Gunpowder has affected warfare around the world in all different ways, influencing how battles were fought and borders drawn since its invention in Middle Ages. Gunpowder, one of many low-explosive mixtures used as booster charges in firearms and as explosive agents in mines. The first of these explosives was black powder, consisting of a mixture of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), sulfur and coal. If prepared in more or less correct proportions, it burns immediately when ignited and produces gaseous and solid products, the latter appearing mostly as neutral smoke. In a confined space such as the breech of a gun, the pent-up gas can be used to propel a missile such as a projectile or artillery shell. Black powder is relatively insensitive to shock and friction and must be ignited by flame or heat. ("Gunpowder." Britannica Academic). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Black powder is thought to have originated in China, where it was used in fireworks and signals in the 10th century. Between the 10th and 12th centuries, the Chinese developed the huo qiang ("fire spear"), a prototype short-range rifle that initially channeled the explosive power of gunpowder through a barrel, a bamboo tube. Upon ignition, projectiles such as arrows or pieces of metal were forcefully ejected, along with an impressive jet of flame. Towards the end of the 13th century the Chinese began to employ actual guns, made of cast brass or iron. In the west in 1304, the Arabs produced an iron-reinforced bamboo tube that used a charge of black powder to fire an arrow. Black powder was adopted for use in firearms in Europe starting in the 14th century but was not employed for peaceful purposes, such as. mining and road construction until the end of the 17th century. It remained a useful explosive for shattering coal and rock deposits until the early 20th century, when it was gradually replaced by dynamite for most mining purposes. ("Gunpowder." Britannica Academic). Gunpowder was quickly used by the ruling Sung Dynasty against the Mongols, whose constant invasions into the country plagued the Chinese throughout the period. The Mongols were the first to be subjected to flying fire from an arrow attached to a tube of gunpowder which was ignited and fired across enemy lines. Other gunpowder-based weapons were invented by the Chinese and perfected against the Mongols in later centuries, including the first cannons and grenades (Heather Whipps, history) Gunpowder somehow remained a monopoly of the Chinese until the 13th century, when science it was transmitted along the ancient silk trade route to Europe and the Islamic world, where it became a decisive factor in many battles of the Middle Ages (Heather Whipps, history) By 1350, simple gunpowder cannons were familiar in English armies and French, who used technology against each other during the Hundred Years' War (Heather Whipps, history)Hundred Years' War, a periodic struggle between England and France in the 14th-15th centuries. on a number of disputes, including the question of royal succession to the French crown. The struggle involved several generations of English and French claimants to the crown and effectively spanned a period of over 100 years. By convention it is said to have begun in 1337 and ended in 1453, but from the 12th century onwards there was periodic fighting over the question of English fiefdoms in France. ("Hundred Years' War." Britannica Academic)The legalities.